Dascha Polanco: Arrested Development

Vixen

What’s your strategy for acting with people you’re not supposed to be so in love with, like Aleida and Mendez?
As actors, we all have our methods when preparing for a role. One of the things I’ve trained myself to do is to have a collage or a journal of my character and I create the emotions that somebody would have through that. So, when I’m going in to deal with my mother, I have to train myself and prep by reading this journal. So, when you’re working with talented individuals like Elizabeth [Rodriguez] and Pablo [Scheider], it becomes easy to react because the chemistry is there. They’re always giving me energy. Luckily, we sort of just mesh so I can think “I can’t stand my mother” or “I hate his pornstache and I hate him (laughs).”

Who is your favorite OITNB character?
Crazy Eyes. Uzo [Aduba] is amazing. I hang out with her, so I know her personally and she blows me away. But, I wouldn’t want to play her character. I would play Daya again because everyone just sort of hits their characters on the spot.

It’s clear all of you get along. What are you doing off set?
Normal stuff like girl talk or shopping. If we’re not feeling well, we take care of each other. It’s such a great bond that sometimes you question whether any of it is bullshit, but it’s actually not. The love off set is so real. We share many moments. I have no favorites. We all have leveled out relationships so everyone is just with everyone.